* World stocks down on U.S. economic worries
* Dollar near 15-year low vs yen
By Jeremy Gaunt, European Investment Correspondent
LONDON, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Investors steered clear of
riskier assets on Friday amid growing concerns about slackening
growth in the U.S. economy.
Globally, equities were lower, with Europe giving up early
gains. The Japanese yen, a popular safe haven, threatened to hit
a 15-year high against the dollar.
Reports on Thursday showed U.S. jobless claims at a
nine-month high and the first contraction in a year in a
volatile U.S. regional manufacturing index. []
"The latest data out of the U.S. sparked a flight to quality
by reviving fears of a double-dip recession, with investors
seeking refuge into safer government debt," Louis Capital
analyst Bertrand Michaud said.
Like others, he suggested markets would be waiting for the
end of the northern hemisphere's summer to get a clearer picture
on where the world's economy and markets were heading.
World stocks as measured by MSCI <.MIWD00000PUS> and Thomson
Reuters <.TRXFLDGLPU> were down more than half a percent on the
day.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <> was down 0.5
percent.
The index has been hurt recently by the lower global oil
price, which has undermined key energy stocks. The STOXX Europe
600 Oil & Gas index <.SXEP> was off 0.2 percent with oil up a
tad <.CLc1>.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei average <> fell 2 percent, hit
by the U.S. economic worries, but also by jitters over what, if
any, steps Japanese authorities might take to stem the recent
yen rise.
Markets are rife with speculation that the Bank of Japan, in
an attempt to pre-empt government pressure for action, may
loosen its already-easy monetary policy at an emergency meeting
before or shortly after an expected meeting between BOJ Governor
Masaaki Shirakawa and Prime Minister Naoto Kan next week.
[]
RISING YEN
The dollar was buttressed by safe-haven demand after the
U.S. data, helping it stay above a 15-year trough against the
yen <JPY=>.
It was unchanged at 85.39 yen, hovering above 84.72 yen hit
last week for the first time since 1995.
The U.S. currency has taken a hit versus the yen in past
weeks as U.S. Treasury yields have tumbled due to concerns about
the U.S. economy, narrowing their spread with Japanese
government bonds and tarnishing their appeal.
"Everyone thinks the dollar will extend losses against the
yen," said Tsutomu Soma, senior manager of the foreign
securities department at Okasan Securities in Tokyo.
"But fears of intervention and caution about additional
monetary easing steps in Japan are making players hesitate to
aggressively sell the dollar for now."
The euro <EUR=> was flat on the day at $1.2814, pulling away
from the day's low of $1.2792.
German government bond futures opened firmer, buoyant after
hitting a record high late in the previous session.
(Additional reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Blaise Robinson;
Editing by Andrew Heavens)
